We are all driven by our fears and desires, and sometimes we are in thrall to them. The american physician benjamin rush kicked off the craze for naming such fixations in 1786. Until then, the word “phobia” (which is derived from phobos, the greek god of panic and terror) had been applied only to symptoms of physical disease, but rush used it to describe psychological phenomena. “i shall define phobia to be a fear of an imaginary evil,” he wrote, “or an undue fear of a real one. ” he listed 18 phobias, among them terrors of dirt, ghosts, doctors and rats.
(see also overview of anxiety disorders overview of anxiety disorders everyone periodically experiences fear and anxiety. Fear is an emotional, physical, and behavioral response to an immediately recognizable external threat (eg, an intruder, a car spinning on. Read more. )a specific phobia is fear of and anxiety about a particular situation or object (see the table some common phobias some common phobias* ) to a degree that is out of proportion to the actual danger or risk. The situation or object is usually avoided when possible, but if exposure occurs, anxiety quickly develops. The anxiety may intensify to the level of a panic attack panic attacks and panic disorder a panic attack is the sudden onset of a discrete, brief period of intense discomfort, anxiety, or fear accompanied by somatic and/or cognitive symptoms.
Emotional symptoms of a phobia include:
There are both physical, behavioural and emotional symptoms associated with a phobia – when faced with the source of the phobia, it’s common for someone to feel intense panic and fear. A desire to run away from the situation
absolute terror when faced with the fear inducing object or situation
avoidance behaviour such as not going out, not touching objects in public or not socialising
physical symptoms including trembling, heart palpitations, feeling sick and dizziness, panic attacks
obsessing about the fear and not being able to think of anything else
anxiety at the thought of the fear
whilst we might all have fears, phobias can be overwhelming and distressing to live with and for many affected with fears of common situations, such as public spaces or flying, can have a serious impact on their lives and those of their family.
Social phobias affect each person in different ways. Some people are frightened of specific situations, like being in crowded spaces with other people or speaking at a public meeting. For other people, social phobia symptoms may include a general, all-consuming dread of interacting with other people, regardless of what the situation may be. Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces or social situations. People who have agoraphobia are so fearful of social situations that they isolate themselves in their homes, sometimes for months or years at a time. Panic disorder is common among people who have agoraphobia, as panic attacks can reinforce their dread of social situations.
Who is affected by phobias?
What are phobias? phobias are an extremely strong fear that a person has of something – for instance an animal, a feeling, an object, situation or place (often known as the ‘trigger’). A phobia associates the trigger with extreme feelings of danger, and can cause huge restrictions and anxieties around a person’s life, as they try to avoid it. Some people may not be distressed by their phobia unless they are physically near it or in the situation at the time, while others can be affected just by thinking about their phobia. How are you feeling? it is good to understand and to monitor how you are feeling.
There are trained professionals who know about phobias and how to help someone who is affected by them. They can provide you with support and help for working through any distressing thoughts and feelings you have and support you to make positive changes in your life. For some people, it might be helpful to understand why your phobia developed and may involve processing earlier trauma. For others, this is not important or useful, and instead, the key is to focus on changing your thinking and behaviour. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (cbt), a psychological therapy that largely focuses on overcoming unhelpful beliefs, can be helpful for people with specific phobias.
There are 2 types of phobia: simple phobias complex phobias.
Phobia, unlike fear, is defined by: intense and excessive anxiety about a feared object or situation feeling as if fear of the object or situation is holding you back avoiding the feared object or situation though plenty of people would be startled or even shriek at the sight of a snake slithering across their foot, not everyone would feel this fear holds them back or impairs them. Someone with a true phobia of snakes would feel intense anxiety when snakes might be present or avoid the situation altogether. If you have a phobia, you could experience physical symptoms like: rapid heartbeat phobias are the most common types of anxiety disorders in the united states.